As the Lafayette student body continues to grow next semester, the college expects having to build modular homes for students until the college’s permanent housing options meet the needs of students.

This housing will be most similar to Tier One and Two housing in terms of Wi-Fi, air conditioning, lounge and kitchen space, bedroom size and furniture and price, Vice President of Finance Roger Demareski wrote in email. Housekeeping, plumbing and amenities will also function the same as in any other comparable living space on campus. Demareski added that plumbing will be connected to the “campus utility system.”

According to the Modular Home Builders Association, modular homes “look like any other homes,” but are not built into the ground.

Demareski wrote that the college plans to have upper-level students live in the modular units. So, he wrote that he is unsure whether admissions will be advertising the change to incoming students as it is not relevant to first-years. However, prospective students may end up living in the modular housing during their time at Lafayette.

The college plans to grow the class of 2021 by 50 students more than the typical class size, and hopes to grow the student body to 2,900 students by 2025.

“We anticipate having the units in place until new housing is developed which should be in the next two or three years,” Demareski wrote in an email.

President Alison Byerly said that this housing will most likely be erected during summer 2017 to “carry us through the period that the first residential units are being built.”

She added that the modular housing may be on the March Field parking lot or in a space near the Watson Courts.

This temporary housing project was included in initial estimates for the college’s expansion, so even with a setup cost of $200,000 and a monthly expense of $25,000 to rent the units, there will be no additional rental cost to students.